What is
Psychometric Testing?

Ability Tests

Psychometric testing
falls into three main categories:

Ability testing

Aptitude testing

Personality
questionnaires

Ability tests measure a
person's potential, for instance to learn the skills needed for
a new job or to cope with the demands of a training course.
Ability tests are not the same thing as Tests of Attainment.

Tests of attainment
assess specifically what people have learnt e.g. mathematical
knowledge or typing skills. Of course what people have learned
does depend on their ability in that domain in the first place,
so the scores on the two types of test are conceptually linked.

The major difference
between tests of ability and tests of attainment is in the way
the scores from both types of test are used. Many ability test
items look identical to those on attainment tests but attainment
tests are different in one crucial respect - they are
retrospective: they focus on what has been learnt and on what a
person knows and can do now. Ability tests are prospective: they
focus on what the person is capable of achieving in the future
or their potential to learn. Bear in mind that some attainment
is required before certain abilities can be measured, for
instance, we need a certain knowledge of mathematics before our
numerical ability can be measured. In addition a test of
attainment cannot be used to directly infer ability. School
examinations are one example of measures of achievement or
attainment, and while we might draw some conclusions about an
individual's ability on the basis of GCSE results we would not
use them as a direct measure of ability since a less able
student may work harder than a more able student to produce a
better score.

General ability is
usually divided up into specific abilities, reflecting the
hierarchical structure of intelligence that is generally
accepted by most workers in the field. So a general ability test
might be composed of specific numerical, verbal and spatial
ability scales brought together as a test battery. They can then
be scored and interpreted individually as a specific ability or
aptitude measure, or together as part of a general ability
measure.

Aptitude Tests

There is no widely
accepted definition of the difference between ability and
aptitude. Most people would agree that to some extent the two
terms refer to the same thing: aptitude referring to specific
ability, and ability referring to general aptitude. We could
probably view ability as underlying aptitude, and aptitude as
being more job related then ability. For instance a computer
programmer might score highly on a verbal ability test and
highly on a programmer aptitude test but not the other way
around.

Aptitude tests tend to be
job related and have names that include job titles such as the
Programmers Aptitude Series (SHL). Ability tests on the other
hand are designed to measure the abilities or mental processes
that underlie aptitude and are named after them e.g. Spatial
Ability - GAT (ASE). We have also mentioned that ability tests
can be either general or specific in focus. An ability test such
as the General Ability Test (GAT) is made up of four tests of
specific ability - numerical ability; verbal ability; non-verbal
ability and spatial ability. They can be used separately to
assess specific abilities or together to assess general ability.
There are tests which measure only general ability such as the
Standard Progressive Matrices (which is one of the purest
measures of general ability available) and there are tests which
only measure specific abilities such as the ACER Mechanical
Reasoning Test. You will find with experience that some tests
fall into more than one category and that the distinction
between the various categories is not always an easy one to
define.

Personality Tests

Personality is a term
which is commonly used in everyday language but which has been
given a particular technical meaning by psychologists. When we
discuss personality we must remember that it is not a single
independent mechanism but closely related to other human
cognitive and emotional systems.

Before we go onto discuss
what exactly personality is it might be useful to just consider
what personality is not.

Personality is not the
same thing as motivation which is goal directed behaviour
designed to satisfy needs, interests and aspirations. Motivation
is related to personality in that while personality may
represent the way we behave motivation represents the why.
Exactly how the underlying motives of behaviour are
conceptualised depends very much on the school of thought to
which one belongs, for instance a humanist might see the
motivation behind behaviour as coming from a desire to achieve
ones full potential whereas a psychoanalyst might look for
unconscious motivations to do with unfulfilled sexual needs.

Personality is not the
same thing as culture which is the values, attitudes and beliefs
we share with others about the nature of the world.

Personality is not the
same thing as ability (usually held to be synonymous with
intelligence) which is the ability to identify, understand and
absorb the different components of a problem. Then to identify
the way they are related to each other and the logical
consequence of these relationships to work out the next step.

A Definition of Personality

We can define personality
as -

those relatively
stable and enduring aspects of an individual which
distinguishes them from other people, making them unique,
but which at the same time permit a comparison between
individuals.

It is more useful to view
personality not as something we have but rather as being to do
with how we relate to the world, this is something which is
rendered explicit in Goodstein and Lanyon's (1975) definition of
personality as being -

the enduring
characteristics of the person that are significant for
interpersonal behaviour.

Within this general
definition a number of different theoretical approaches exist:

The
Psychometric approach (Eysenck and Cattell).

The
Psychodynamic approach (Freud, Jung, Adler).

The Social
Learning approach (Mischel, Bandura).

The Humanistic
approach (Maslow, Rogers).

These approaches to
personality are theoretically very different and such a
diversity of different theories exist because personality is a
hypothetical construct which can never be directly observed but
only inferred from behaviour.

A History of Test
Development

Attempts to measure
differences between the psychological characteristics of
individuals can be traced back to 400 BC when Hippocrates
attempted to define four basic temperament types each of which
could be accounted for by a predominant body fluid or humour;
blood - sanguine (optimistic), black bile - melancholic
(depressed), yellow bile - choleric (irritable) and phlegm -
phlegmatic (listless and sluggish). Hippocrates' methods and the
numerous other attempts that have been made since then were
hardly scientific. The first attempt to scientifically measure
the differences between individual mental abilities was made by
Sir Francis Galton in the 19th Century who tried to show that
the human mind could be systematically mapped into different
dimensions. He studied, among other things, how people differed
in terms of their ability to discriminate between stimuli and by
collating the results he obtained he devised a system which
would allow an individual's abilities to be compared to those of
others - an idea on which we rely heavily today.

From the work of people
like Galton and his French contemporary, Binet, a picture of the
human mental domain emerged which saw general human ability as
being composed of a number of specific abilities - a view which
is still held today. The basic tenet of testing nowadays is
based upon the principle of measuring human mental performance
under different conditions and then making comparisons between
people. Of course, the statistical rigour with which this is
done today is much greater than was generally applied in
Galton's day. There is a bewildering array of tests available to
us measuring anything form hand-eye co-ordination to high level
cognitive operations such as spatial reasoning.

How Are Psychometric Tests
Constructed?

In it's simplest form a
test will have a set of questions or tasks for the subject to
complete, these are known as test items. Unfortunately, the
layman associates the everyday use of the word 'test' with an
examination which you either pass or fail. In the context of
psychological testing the tools used are not generally viewed in
this way, usually they are more concerned with describing rather
than judging a person's abilities or aptitudes. It is the case
however that most lay-people will view the word 'test' with some
trepidation and it is difficult to convince them that their
abilities or aptitudes are not 'on trial'. For this reason it is
important that you avoid the use of the word test wherever
possible; use the term assessment instead and describe the tests
themselves as instruments. This becomes especially important in
the case of personality assessment which is purely descriptive
and where any implication of a good or bad personality, or a
pass/fail mark on a test can prove seriously damaging to the
individual. When we use the word test in this training manual it
is in the technical sense and not the everyday sense.

All tests should come
with a test manual which will contain information on how to
carry out a standardised administration of the instrument as
well as its technical specifications. The manual should always
be carefully and thoroughly scrutinised before a decision is
made on whether or not to use a particular test. The manual
should include information about the test's reliability i.e. how
stable or consistent a measure the test is, and the strength of
its validity i.e. how well it actually measures what it claims
to measure. (Note that validity depends on reliability and that
a test cannot be more valid than it is reliable). The manual
should also say something about the nature of the group of
people on whom the test was standardised which will allow us to
see how a person's performance on a particular test compares
with that of other people. Sometimes information is presented on
the performance of more than one type of group - this is because
while it would be unfair to compare the performance of a school
leaver on a particular test with that of a group of graduates it
would not be unfair to compare his performance with that of a
group of similar school leavers. Information about the groups
with whom the test has been standardised is known as normative
information.

The reason we need all of
this information is that what psychological tests measure, such
as numerical ability, cannot be directly observed and therefore
cannot be directly measured. Something like numerical ability
can only be inferred from the behaviour of the individual and as
such is a hypothetical construct. For the same reason, exactly
how much ability we can infer an individual has in a particular
ability domain on the basis of a test score is seldom clear.
What is important is that you go beyond the simple appearance of
the test items into the technical details of the test
construction and rationale. It is unacceptable to simply make a
superficial inspection of an instrument's surface
characteristics - many of the questionnaires we see in
newspapers and magazines with titles such as 'test your word
power' or 'how attractive are you to women' seem plausible
enough and if presented in an attractively packaged set complete
with manual might seem to be highly sophisticated and well
designed instruments when in fact they are not and only look as
though they are.

Dealing With Different Tests

Very often
the interview will be the first contact you will have with the
organisation after applying for a job. The interview is
generally used as part of a battery of measures and if all goes
well and if both you and the organisation decide to proceed to
the next stage there are a number of more rigorously structured
and detailed forms of assessment, which you may be asked to
undergo.

Psychometric tests are becoming more and more widely used. They
are standardised methods of eliciting a sample of responses from
a candidate which can be used to assess various psychological
characteristics by comparing them with a sample of the results
obtained by a comparable group of people.

Tests can be classified under four headings; manual ability,
mental ability, personality and interests, and motivation.
Manual ability tests are not commonly used in management
selection. Mental ability tests can measure general ability and
are frequently composed of a battery of sub scales measuring
such specific abilities as verbal reasoning, numerical ability,
abstract reasoning and mechanical reasoning.

The use of personality questionnaires in selection is more
contentious, however if used correctly by suitably qualified
individuals trained in administration and interpretation they
can play a valuable role in identifying preferred ways or
dealing with the world. Tests of interests reflect the fact that
tasks often have their own intrinsic motivation and a person who
finds the work interesting will be happier and more productive.
Tests of motivation are used to determine which situations
increase and decrease individual motivation and may measure
things like a need for power, affiliation or achievement.
Generally tests of interest and motivation are rarely used in
selection.

Dealing With
Ability/Aptitude Tests

The
whole area of psychometric testing is a technically complex and
often confusing one. Many people (including some who actually
use tests professionally!) often misunderstand or misinterpret
the terminology and procedures involved.

Most ability tests tend to share a number of characteristics:

There
is usually a time limit - up to 40 minutes for subjects like
verbal or numerical reasoning, down to just a few minutes
for something like perceptual speed and accuracy.

There
are usually right and wrong answers.

Your
score is usually interpreted in comparison to the scores
obtained by some other group e.g. the general population or
graduates. Usually, you are not penalized for getting an
answer wrong, other than not getting a mark for answering it
correctly. 'Negative' scoring is very rare.

Ideally
you should receive feedback, although logistical or
practical issues may mean that this does not always happen.
If you are invited to the next stage of selection, for
example, an interview, then the results of the tests will
usually be explained to you then. If not, then you could ask
or write to see if you can receive feedback. Actual copies
of test answer sheets etc will usually not be released to
you.

Many of
these points may seem like common sense, you should try to
remember -

Get a
good night's sleep beforehand.

If you
wear glasses or a hearing aid then take them along. If you
have any disabilities tell the test administrator about them
beforehand.

Eat
breakfast. Research shows that skipping breakfast reduces
intellectual performance (although it can be difficult to
make yourself eat if you are very nervous!).

Test
administrators follow a standard set of instructions. Don't
be worried if they seem a little rigid or unfriendly - this
is what they are supposed to be doing and it helps to ensure
that everyone takes the test under exactly the same
conditions.

Stay
calm - arousal too can decrease intellectual functioning.
Try to remember that ability tests usually measure
underlying ability rather than overt knowledge. Even though
something such as a numerical reasoning test may look very
complex, the actual mathematics involved is likely to be
very simple - do not be 'blinded by science'.

Reassure yourself that you cannot prepare for a psychometric
test in the same way you can for a school examination -
traditional revision is likely to be pointless. Although if
you have an idea of what type of test to expect, for
example, numerical ability, then you might practice writing
some test questions yourself and then trying to answer them.

Try to
picture what the session will be like. This program provides
a close approximation to the three most commonly used
ability tests, both in terms of item style and the time
allowed to complete them.

Be
systematic, try to work out a routine or system for
analysing the test items.

Avoid
'skimming' to seek out obvious easy answers. This wastes
time.

You
will almost certainly be taken through a practice or
instructions stage before the test proper. This will give
you the chance to try one or two practice items, practice
making you answers on the answer sheet, and ask questions of
the administrator. Listen carefully to test instructions.
Experienced test administrators often see candidates just
'switching off' for one reason or another during the
instruction or practice phase and then struggle when it
comes to the test itself.

Get the
most out of the examples or practice session and do not be
afraid to ask questions. If you need a little more time for
practice, then ask for it. Although test administrators'
instructions will often say something like - "Allow
approximately five minutes for candidates to work through
the practice examples," they should still take the time to
ensure that everyone understands what is expected of them.
Although there will come a time when they will simply ask
you to begin the test proper.

If you
have a certain amount of time to complete the psychometric
test, try to work quickly through the questions, but do not
despair if you do not finish the test, not all psychometric
tests are designed to be finished!

If you know
beforehand which type of test you will be taking then you could
try writing some test items yourself. This is not as easy as it
sounds but is an excellent method of preparation. Also remember
that if one of the response options is 'none of these' or
similar you will need to be extra careful. At least with five
definite answers to choose from we can know that the right
answer is in there somewhere.

Abstract Ability Tests

Abstract
reasoning is concerned with solving problems that are not verbal
or numerical in nature. The items tend to take the form of a
series of shapes or diagrams from which you have to pick the odd
one out, or identify which would come next in the sequence from
a set of alternatives. This is a very common type of test.

The ability being measured here is to do with how well a person
can identify patterns and meaning from a mass of seemingly
random or very complex information.

When completing abstract reasoning tests, be aware that there is
only one clear answer.
In particular try to remember -

The answer is very often simple or obvious.

There is usually only one correct answer.

Look for a common theme to every shape or pattern in
the question. For example, is a small square the
only shape common to them all, and if so is there
another shape or position that appears with it four
times out of five?

Is there one characteristic which every option
shares e.g. size, colour, position, and shape.

Always look for other possible answers, as your
first may not always be correct.

Verbal Ability Tests

This type
of test typically involves items that measure grammar, spelling,
language use or comprehension. Above all else it is important to
read each question carefully. Concentrate on a single word or
even letter at a time. We often skip from word to word and pick
the general meaning of a sentence. When one is being asked to
look at specific aspects in a sentence or set of words, then one
does have to concentrate on individual words or even letters.
This is something we may not be used to doing.

In particular try to remember:

Strange as it may sound, the answer, which ‘looks’
right, may often be the correct one. We are good at
recognizing whole words as patterns rather than
individual letters. So, for instance, you may have
previously seen the word spelt correctly, but may
never have actually spelled it yourself.

Read each word carefully. Sometimes similar sounding
or similar looking words are put in to confuse you
and add irrelevant 'noise'.

If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, try
eliminating the answers, which you know, are
incorrect to reduce the response options open to
you.

Numerical Ability Tests

Numerical
ability looks at how well a person can reason with numbers, and
may involve either straightforward mathematical calculation e.g.
division or subtraction, or problems that require mathematical
calculations to solve them.

In the case of numerical problem solving, the actual mathematics
involved may be very simple, but you are being assessed on your
knowledge of how to apply them.

In the case of numerical sequences, which ask you to identify a
pattern, you should try to look for simple sequences first. For
instance, do the numbers increase or decrease, do they seem to
have common denominators, is there a sequence of positive or
negative figures. Then begin looking for combinations e.g. add
one, subtract two, add three, and so on.

In the case of items requiring multiplication or division you
may be presented with very complex numbers. These may be an
attempt to see how well you can look for the 'big picture'.
Sometimes, seemingly
impossible problems can be solved easily by applying some
lateral thinking. Remember your basic mathematical principles;
for example, anything divided or multiplied by zero is zero. Two
even numbers multiplied by each other will produce another even
number. Any number ending in zero that is multiplied by any
other number will always produce another number ending in zero.
A negative and positive number multiplied by each other will
produce a negative number. Two negative numbers multiplied
always produce a positive number, and so on.

Answering Personality
Questionnaires

Unlike
ability tests these types of questionnaire tend not to have
right or wrong answers, nor do they have time limits. The
results from a personality questionnaire will usually be used to
compare some personality trait of yours to those of the general
population, or some other group.

If you are asked to complete such a questionnaire the best
advice is:

There
are no "right" or "wrong" answers. (Although there is a very
popular questionnaire with a number of reasoning items at
the end, but the test administrator will explain this to
you.)

Do not
spend more than a few seconds thinking about the answer to
any one question. It is best to give the first answer that
comes to mind.

Answer
all of the questions.

Be
truthful, give answers that you feel describe you best. Some
questionnaires measure the extent to which you present a
positive impression of yourself, and this may influence your
questionnaire results.

If you
are stuck on a question, mark the answer that would best
describe how you would behave in general or how you would
behave if you had the choice.

Although in
all cases, the instructions given to you by the test
administrator will take precedence.

The best advice that can be given concerning psychometric tests
is to answer questions honestly - some psychometric tools are
designed to detect an inconsistent style of answering and if you
are offered a job on the basis of your performance on a test in
which you have been less than truthful then it is unlikely that
you and the job will suit each other.

Work Sample Tests

Well-designed tests assess those characteristics required of a
candidate to do the job. Sometimes a test may actually ask you
to demonstrate behaviour, which is different to the ultimate job
behaviour, for instance you may be asked to sit an intelligence
test rather than a test of your skills as a manager. One
approach identifies a representative sample of work behaviour
and observes the applicant carrying it out in conditions, which
are as near to the work environment as possible. These are known
as Work Sample Tests and you are likely to come across one of
three types.

Firstly, there are those which are concerned with job related
information where the amount of knowledge you have relevant to a
particular job is assessed, strictly speaking this is not a work
sample test rather it is a test of achievement or attainment.
Professional examinations are attainment tests.

Secondly there are those concerned with individual situational
decision-making where you are asked to take decisions similar to
those taken in the job. These can include in-tray exercises,
which sample the contents of an existing employee's in-tray
(memos, letters, reports etc.), which you have to deal with
within a set time period. In-tray exercises are often used to
assess planning and organising skills, decision-making,
communication, and financial or problem solving skills.

Finally, there are those concerned with group
discussions/decision making where your performance in a group
setting is evaluated, these are used for positions where team
work is important and are used more for managerial jobs than
anything else. Popular forms include the leaderless group
discussion, or the leader led group discussion where candidates
are appointed in turn to act as leader during problem solving
exercises (this is commonly used in officer selection in the
armed forces). Almost always selectors will be looking for
teamwork rather than leadership skills. Remember that selectors
are impressed by people who can generate ideas and encourage
others to do the same or persuade the group to adopt theirs.
Always try to encourage everybody to participate and never try
to steal the limelight.

It is often the case that you may not have been trained in the
job in question in which case a trainability test may be used to
assess your suitability to undergo a training course. This will
typically incorporate a structured and controlled learning
period and may well examine how you perform the task as well as
the outcome.